


An Unfortunate Way to Break the Ice

by theflyingpeanut



Series: Overwatch Smut & Fluff [9]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Trans Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova, Trans Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, Trans Mei-Ling Zhou, flirting with your gf's gf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 13:16:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theflyingpeanut/pseuds/theflyingpeanut
Summary: There are probably better times to get to know your girlfriend's girlfriend than when your both sitting by her bedside in the hospital. Probably better times than when you're blaming yourself for her ending up there.Still, Fareeha's never let something being a bad idea get in the way of her doing it. Not when it comes to romance, at the very least.





	An Unfortunate Way to Break the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theskyshouldbeviolet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theskyshouldbeviolet/gifts).



Fareeha was used to waiting in hospitals. Was used to waiting for news about whether the people she cared about were going to make it. She'd done more than enough for her mother when she was growing up, and she'd done it for her squad at Helix, too. Experience didn't make it any easier, though. Didn't stop her heart from aching as she watched Aleks lying in bed.

Angela had said she should be fine, that she should be up soon if everything had gone right. Fareeha didn't feel the need to interrogate her use of should, didn't feel the need to press her any further. She knew how easily things could go wrong. That even with all the technology in the world, people still died. She knew that Angela was trying as hard as she possibly could, and she was happy to appreciate that without knowing exactly how things could go wrong.

That hadn't been enough for Mei, though. Fareeha had watched her follow Angela out the room, had watched them chatting in the hall for a while. She didn't ask what was said when Mei came back in. Didn't particularly care to know any more details than she did. Instead, she reached a hand across to her as she sat back down, held it there for Mei to take if she wanted to. Fareeha smiled a little when she did, before going back to looking at Aleks. They were friends, and it was nice to be able to offer her what comfort she could.

They were certainly closer than when Fareeha had first joined up with Overwatch. It was an odd thing for her to know two living people who were supposed to be dead. Was odd to have someone she'd had a little crush on when she was younger suddenly be suddenly younger than she was. And it had been really, really weird for her that Mei had been dating the first woman she'd started crushing on after she'd joined.

“If you need to take a break, then you can. There's no reason for us both to be here all the time.” Mei's voice was even softer than usual, and Fareeha turned to look at her. She was staring down at Aleks, gently stroking her hair, a little smile barely visible on her face. “Not that I want you to go. It's nice not to be alone right now. I just want to make sure we both know it's fine if either of us want to.”

“Thanks. It's appreciated, but I'm happy to stay. Wouldn't be able to get anything else done, anyway. Not with all the worrying.” Fareeha chuckled quietly to herself, reaching out to touch Aleks stomach, giving Mei's hand another squeeze. She thought about how much blood there'd been when Aleks had been hit, about how quickly she'd dropped to the ground. Thought about the fact that she'd been bubbled when it had happened, that Aleks had been too busy keeping her safe to look after herself. She thought about the fact that if it weren't for Angela and her tech, she never would have made it back here alive. “If I hadn't been so far from the group, she never would have gotten hit. Never would have had to put herself in danger to save me.”

“If you hadn't been there, then no one would have been providing cover for us. Nothing would have stopped Talon from turning all of their fire on us.” Fareeha felt Mei squeeze her hand a little tighter, heard her sigh. “Things would have been much worse if you weren't there, Fareeha. I'm sure of that.”

“Thank you.” Fareeha wasn't entirely sure she believed that, but she didn't want to argue about it, either. There'd be a debriefing. They'd figure out what had happened, how they could do better. Who was at fault. Till then, she'd just quietly blame herself. Think about how she could have changed things. How she could have done things right. “How quickly did Aleks ask you out after she'd met you?”

“Two weeks. Just gave me a bouquet of flowers on day. Think she picked them herself.” Fareeha snorted, turning to Mei and watching her smile grow larger. “She did something similar with you, didn't she?”

“Kinda. Got me to go on a hike with her, and when I finally gave her a chance to catch up with me, she was carrying along a bunch of wild-flowers. Don't think anyone's ever been that sweaty when they've asked me out.” She smiled as Mei chuckled, thinking about the look on Aleks face when she'd said yes straight away. That she hadn't even taken a second to think about the fact that Aleks had been dating Mei, too.

“It's a cute little pattern. It'd be nice to meet some other women she's dated. See how long it's been her thing.” Fareeha joined her chuckling, coming to a stop a few seconds after her. She was frowning a little now, squeezing her hand a little tighter. “I'm sorry if this is rude to ask, but does this kind of thing ever get… well, easier?”

“Oh. Well...” Fareeha trailed off, looking back to Aleks and working at her bottom lip. She wasn't entirely sure what to say. Wasn't sure how to explain how it almost became routine over time. Not any less scary, but something that she could think her way through, for the most part. Something she knew her way around, one way or the other. “A little. It still sucks, and it's still awful, but I'm almost used to it. I know how to make it easier.”

“How do you do that, then? If I'm going to be staying around, I think that will be a useful thing to learn.” Fareeha smiled, turning in time to watch her look to Aleks, a slight blush rising to her cheek. She really did look lovely. Not hard to figure out why Aleks liked her so much.

“Well, I suppose I'll have to help you. I'd hate to see you go. Don't think Aleks would ever let me hear the end of it.” Mei giggled, and Fareeha smiled a little more, sitting back in her seat and giving Mei her full attention. “You know, what we're doing right now is a pretty good strategy. Finding someone who can spend time with you, someone you like. Someone that can talk you out of the worst of your thoughts.”

“Someone to be sad with you. It certainly makes a difference.” Fareeha nodded, squeezing Mei's hand and watching her face fall for a moment. She couldn't really imagine how it had been for her in the Antarctic. Could think of how it'd feel to lose so many people like that. She'd seen friends die, she'd mourned her mother. She'd known when it had happened, though. It had never not been a shock, but at least she hadn't missed it. At least it all hadn't hit her at once. “I'm glad you're here, Fareeha. Nice to be around someone who cares for Aleks like I do. Who gets it.”

“Likewise. Good to be around someone who gets how high the stakes are. After all, it'd be hard to find someone who'd be such a good lay.” Mei shook her head, tutting and smirking as she stared at Aleks. Fareeha grinned, looking up at the ceiling, feeling her stomach twist a little. “She's so gentle. You'd never guess it from seeing her work. Wouldn't realise if you didn't know her properly.”

“I was so surprised the first time she held my hand. She's so big and so strong and it barely felt like she was touching me at first. Had to squeeze her back before she'd go any farther.” Mei giggled again, running a thumb over Alek's cheek. “I've never been with someone who tries so hard to play it cool and is so nervous about actually doing anything.”

“It's cute. Been a lot of fun coaxing her out of her shell. Trying to get her to feel comfortable. Well worth the effort.” Fareeha chuckled, remembering how hesitant Aleks had been their first time. How happy she'd been when Fareeha had made the first move. When she'd offered so much guidance to her. “Think she's used to people expecting her to take charge. Must be nice not to have to do that with us. At least, I'd assume she doesn't have to do that with you, judging from what she's said.” Fareeha grinned, watching her bite her lip as a bit more colour flushed to her cheeks.

“She does not. Not many of my partners have, just so you know.” Mei glanced at her, smirking and sending a flush of heat to her face. Definitely not hard to see why Aleks liked her so much. Not hard to see at all. “It really has been nice to have you here. Nice to not have to be alone.”

“Yeah. I've done far too much of that over the past few years. Enough to last a life time.” Mei squeezed her hand again, and Fareeha watched her edge her chair closer. Watched her face turn up to her. "Don't think I'd have dealt with this half as well without you.”

“Thank you. Glad I could be of help. I heard about your mother dying when I woke up. It must have been hard to go through. Hope you didn't have to do that alone.” Fareeha shook her head, feeling a little bit of embarrassment at the fact that her mother was alive. It had been a hard lie to keep since she'd found out, and she wasn't sure what she'd do if Ana ever decided to come back. Wasn't sure if she could let anyone know that she'd known. “You remind me a lot of her, you know. Same kind of confidence. Same kind of attitude. Not quite so flirtatious, though.”

“Ah. Well, uh, that's not a bad thing, I suppose.” Fareeha felt her face flush again, felt her hand get a bit sweatier as Mei giggled again. Something else was nagging at her, though. Something she needed to know. Something she needed to ask before there was even a chance of anything happening. “You and she weren't ever… you know.” Mei raised an eyebrow for a moment, before raising a hand to her mouth, trying to quieten her laughter as Fareeha looked away, ears starting to burn.

“No, we did not do that. Though I understand why you asked. It really would make this a lot weirder for you if I was just another notch on her bedpost, huh?” Fareeha groaned, letting her head flop onto the bed besides Aleks' leg as Mei continued to laugh. She heard Mei's chair moving across the floor again, felt their arms press together as the bed shifter by her face. Felt Mei's breath across her lips. “Would probably make it far less cool for me to flirt with you like this, huh?” Fareeha opened her eyes, staring into Mei's, feeling her mouth suddenly go dry.

“I...” She trailed off, watching her eyes smile as she tried thinking of something to say. To think of any way to respond. “I… uh… yes. Weirder. Really not this nice.” Mei giggled again, her face slowly moving forward till her nose was pressing against Fareeha's.

“This is nice. Helped me forget where I was for a moment. Which, now that I say it, is making me feel, uh...” Fareeha nodded, glancing at Aleks' still body, feeling a bit of guilt twisting her gut.

“I get it. I very much want to talk about this. Would very, very much like to continue this another time. Just, well… not now. Not here. Not when...” Mei smiled and nodded, squeezing her hand a little tighter till they heard a little cough from the head of the bed.

“If it's about me, then don't let me stop you. It was a very nice show to wake up to.” Fareeha kept staring at Mei for a moment longer, before jumping out of her seat and staring down at her. She had the same grin as always, even if it was looking a little weaker than normal. “Aww. You know, I really was enjoying that. Really glad to see you-” She was cut-off when Mei's arms were thrown around her neck, the squeezing and kissing seemingly enough to distract her. Fareeha started grinning, reaching forward enough to give her hand a little squeeze.

“You really are a shit sometimes. You know that?” She watched Aleks' smile grow wider as Mei nuzzled against her, felt her hand get squeezed a little bit more for a moment. “Good to have you back. You had us worried.”

“Why? You think something like this is going to kill me? I'm hurt.” Aleks tried to frown, unable to hold back her chuckling as Mei kissed her ears, or the pained hiss of breath as their chests pushed together.

“You know, you probably deserved that.” Mei kissed Aleks' cheek as she spoke, and the blush that rose on her face made Fareeha's mind up for her. She gingerly crawled onto the bed, slipping over Aleks and laying on her other side, grinning as she rested a hand on her chest.

“Didn't want to leave all the hugging to you two. Not when there was room for one more.” She was barely keeping herself balanced on the bed, but that wasn't really important. What was important was being close to Aleks. Being close to Mei. Feeling Mei's hand slowly slip over her own.

“Nice to see you two being so friendly. Not that you weren't nice to each other before, but… well, you know.”Mei nodded as Aleks finished, kissing her cheek again and smiling across at Fareeha. She really did look amazingly pretty. Just so soft and gentle and lovely and someone who was apparently into her, too. She wondered if her and Aleks had had a moment like this too. A moment where they didn't say too much. Where they just realised how they felt. “You two should probably date, too. Seems like a good choice.”

“It does, doesn't it?” Mei smirked at her, and Fareeha felt her face start to burn, unable to do anything other than nod back. “Great. Good to know we're all on the same page, right?”

“Right. Yeah. Can just sort out the details later.” Mei and Aleks both nodded, and Fareeha sighed, closing her eyes and resting her head against Aleks' shoulder. All the worry over Aleks was finally catching up with her. All the stress. She was glad she could finally get a chance to rest. A chance to recover. A chance to do all that with both of the woman she was apparently dating now. She knew that things weren't perfect, that they'd all be back in here again some day. She wasn't going to let bother her, though. Not when she was nuzzled into Alek's side, not when Mei's fingers were gently brushing against her own. Not when everything was finally going so well.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to see any more of my stuff or make any suggestions for what to write, come chat at theflyingpeanutwritesthings.tumblr.com


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